Method of and means for making tubular articles



F. H. MALONEY.

METHOD OF AND MEANS FOR MAKING TUBULAR ARTICLES.

-APPL|CATION FILED JANlY, I919- 11,413,284, Patented 18, 1922.

4 S$HEET l. llllllllulllPlg ENV NWR FRANK H. MALOh/EYv I WITNESS I W I %%%&

ATTORNEY METHOD OF AND MEANS APPLICAT MALONEY.

FOR MAKING TUEULAR ARTICLES.

FILED JAN.17,1919.

Patented Apr. 18, 1922.

' 4 SHEETSSHEET 2.

. INVE NTOR W ITNESS FRANK H. MALONE Y %,M BY iRfi-IW F. H. MALONEY.

METHOD OF AND MEANS FOR MAKING TUBULAR ARTICLES.

APPLICATION FILED JAN-17,1919. I

Patented A pr. 18, 1922. 4 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

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F. H. MALONEY.

METHOD OF AND MEANS FOR MAKING TUBULAR ARTICLES.

APPLICATION FILED JAN-17,1919.

Patented Apr. 18,

4 SHEETS-SHEE INVENTOR w FfiA/W H. mm-

ATTORNEY UNITED STATES PATENT, OFFICE.

FRANK H. MALONE'Y, OF BRIDGE-PORT. CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGN- MENTS, TO REMINGTON ARMS COMPANY, INC., OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORA- TION OF DELAWARE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. is, 1922.

Application filed January 17, 1919. Serial No. 271,647.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK H. MALONEY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Bridgeport, in the county of Fairfield and State of Connecticut, have invented a certain new and useful Improved Method of and Means for Making Tubular Articles, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to a new method of and means for making tubular articles, and while not limited to such use it is especially adapted for making metallic cartridge shells. When used for this purpose the steps which form the subject of this invention are preferably followed by other operations such as drawing and trimming.

The object of my invention is to produce a metallic cartridge shell or other'similar body in a simpler and more economical manner than has heretofore been possible.

This is accomplished by applying pressure by means of a punch to a blank confined in a pecially shaped die provided with a bottom aperture of a size smaller than the blank. The process, therefore, comprises extrusion of the type in which the flow of the metal is in the same direction as the movement of the punch.

Other objects are the provision of a punch and (lie for this purpose which are so proportioned as to be subject to a minimum of strain and wear, and therefore capable of us for long periods without adjustment, repair or replacement.

Another object is the extrusion of a blank by pressure on the flat of the blank as distinguished from pressure on the top of the upturned edge of the blank as'contemplated in Patent 922,585'to L. E. Hooker.

Another object is the accomplishment of such extrusion by means of a punch unprovided with a former which has been an es sential part of extruding punches heretofore. Other objects are the provision of means for controlling the wall thickness of the shells and the punching of the blank from the plate and its extrusion in one operation, and by the use of the same punch and die. Also the extrusion of a cylindrical body from a polygonal blank.

My improved process and the means I have provided for carrying it out is described in detail in the attached drawings, whereof:

Fig. 1 is a full scale elevation of portions of the punch and die, showing blank in die, the die and blank being shown in section.

F 1g. 2 is a similar view showing the position of the punch after a partial operation.

Fig. 3 is a similar view after a slightly further movement of the punch.

Fig. 4 shows the parts with the punch at its lowest position, showing the blank fully extruded.

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 1 showing a modified form of punch.

Fig. 5 shows the parts of Fi .5 after a partial operation.

. Fig. 6 shows the punch of Figs. 5 and 5 in its lowest position. 1

Figs. 7, 8, 9 and 10 show the various steps of the process when used for punching the blank and extruding it in one operation.

Fig. 11 is similar to Fig. 7 showing a hexagonal blank in the die.

Fig. 12 is a plan view of Fig. 11, the punch being omitted.

Fig. 18 is similar to Fig. 11 showing the punch in its lowest position with the blank fully extruded.

With special reference to Figs. 1, 2, 3 and 4, the numeral 21 indicates the bed plate of an ordinary punch press, and the numerals 22 and 23 designate, generally, the die and punch, respectively. The die is held in position on the body by means of the fiat ring' 24 overlying the flange 25 on the die. The flange is provided with a number of slots 26 for receiving an equal number of set screws 27 provided for forcing the ring against the flange of the die. The upper part of the die opening is formed cylindrically as at 30, immediately below which is the conical seat portion 31 which connects with a cylindrical aperture 32 of reduced diameter. The blank 34 is of a size to fit freely in the portion 30 of the die, and is supported on the conical seat 31.

Inall of the'drawings the blank is shown as being dish shaped. It has been foundthat when blanks are punched from sheet metal the fibres at the edge of the blank are turned upward on account of the shearing action while being severed. It was discovered that it is preferable to place these blanks in the extruding die in the same position as in the severing die as in this way these fibres will finally lie in the same position as in the beginning and so that any fissures and cracks in the edge of the blank will not be carried further, as would be the case if laced in the die in the opposite position. 11 order to be able to properly place the blanks in the extruding die, it was found preferable to form the severing punch with a rounded end so as to round or dish the blanks formed thereby for the purpose named. While I have shown blanks of this shape, it is to be understood that this shape of blank' is not essential, as fiat blanks can be extruded in the same way and equally well if properly placed in the die.

The metal used is generally brass and the operations comprising my invention are carried on in the cold state. Other suitable metals, either hot or cold, may be worked on in the same way.

The punch consists of a large cylindrical portion 35, the reduced cylindrical portion 36 dimensioned to fit the portion 30 of the die, and the conical portion 37 similar in form to the conical portion 31 of the die. The end of the punch 38 is formed substantially flat. The edges where the various portions of the punch come together are preferably somewhat rounded.

The apexangle of the conical surface of the punch and die in the form illustrated is 90 degrees. These angles have been found to give good results but a variation may be made with good results and without departing from my invention.

Steps of the process-After the blank has been placed in the die, as shown in Fig. 1, the punch is forced steadily downward to the extreme position shown in Fig. 4. The first effect of the punch is to further dish the blank to make it conform to the shape of the punch and die as shown in Fig. 2. This is merely a bending operation. As the diameter of the blank has been somewhat reduced there is an annular empty space 39 in the die at this time. Upon further movement of the punch this space is filled. up by the metal of the blank which is caused to flow upwardly to fill this space as shown in Fig. 3. This is a true extrusion step of the type in which the direction of the flow is opposite to the direction of movement of the punch. As the central portion of the blank is not confined by the die, it receives no part of the pressure exerted by the punch, this pressure being sustained entirely by the conical annular portion of the blank.

The only exit for the compressed metal is the orifice aa (see Fig. 3) which is of frusto-conical shape as it extends completely around the die. Further movement forces the metal to flow through this orifice down through the cylindrical part 32 of the die in the form of a sleeve having walls of gradually decreasing thickness. This reduction in thickness of the walls is due to the continued decrease in the size of the orifice a-a until at the end of the stroke the orifice is reduced to the dimensions a'a' as shown in Fig. 4.

The flow of metal through the orifice takes the form of the surface of a cone. This convergent flow continues only so long as the metal is supported by the seat 31. After passing the point 33, it assumes a substantially cylindrical form.

When the punch has reached the limit of its stroke, the metal of the blank is in the shape shown in Fig. 4. It comprises a closed ended tube consisting of the base portion 40, which is of substantially the same thickness as the original blank, the side walls 41 of gradually decreasing thickness and the flaring conical part 42 of uniform thickness.

This tube is subsequently annealed, if the properties of the metal employed necessitate this, and is then forced through a drawing die in the usual way. This will reduce the diameter of the shell, increase its length and incorporate the flaring portion 42 in the cylindrical part of the shell. The drawing op erations are followed by the other usual steps necessary for producing finished cartridge shells. While this process has special value in connection with the manufacture of cartridge shells, the invention is by no means to be limited to this use as it is also applicable to the manufacture of other similar tubular articles.

In the form shown in Figs. 5, 5 and 6, the blank 34, which may be either flat or dished, is shown in a die of the same size and shape as the die 22 of Figs. 1 to 4. The punch 23 is, however, of slightly modified form, the conical end 37 being somewhat more pointed. In the particular form shown, the apex angle of the die seat is 90 degrees and that of the punch is 60 degrees. While these angles have given entire satisfaction in practice, a considerable variation thereof may be made with good results.

The first eifect of the punch as it strikes the blank is to bend it to the shape of the punch and then extrude the metal upwardly to completely fill the die as shown in Fig. 5". As the conical part of the punch is of a lesser angle than the die seat, the orifice through which the metal flows is somewhat smaller than the one shown in Fig. 3 and the wall thickness is there-fore less near the base and the decrease in thickness toward the top is less marked than when the angles of punch and die are the same.

The resulting tube is therefore possibly somewhat longer and the flaring portion 42* gradually increases in thickness toward the top. As in the case of the tube formed by the steps illustrated in Figs. 1 to4 the flaring portion 42' becomes incorporated in the cylindrical portion of the shell in the sub se uent drawing operation.

11 the form of my invention shown in Figs. 1 to 6- inclusive, the blank to be extruded was punched from the sheet metal by any ordinary punch and die. After considerable experlment, it was discovered that the severing of the blank and its extrusion could be accomplished in one operation and by the use of thesame punch and die. The various steps for accomplishing this and the means for carrying out these steps are illus trated in Figs. 7 to 10 inclusive. In this form of my invention, it is desirable to provide a gang of such punches and dies in order to be able to sever and extrude a number of blanks at each operation of the press. In these figures the letter B represents the sheet of brass or other metal supported on a number of dies 22 preferably of the same form as the die 22 of Figs. 1 to 4. These dies have the cylindrical parts 30 and 32 connected by the conical seat 31". The apex angles of the punch 23 and the die seat are 90 degrees in the form shown. l/Vhile considerable variation of the angles of punch and die seat may be made, and they may even be of-somewhat differing angles as in Figs. 5, 5 and 6, I have found it advisable to make the angle of the punch approximately as shown in order to obtain good shearing results.

A number of such dies may be held in position by a ring 24* held down by suitable means, such as set screws 27".

When the punch descends on the plate, its first effect is to draw the metal under it into the die whereby it is caused to conform approximately to the shape of the conical end of the punch. A further movement "of the punch causes the shearing of the depressed portion from the remainder of the plate. It is now forced against the seat 31 as shown in Fig. 9. With the angles shown no upward extrusion takes place as the die is completely filled by the blank.

However, if the angle of the punch differed somewhat from the angle of the die some upward extrusion would necessarily result at this time.

With the parts in position shown in Fig. 9, further movement of the punch causes the downward extrusion of the metal into the form shown in Fig, 10. The product of these steps is a closed ended tube comprising a base 40*, the side walls 41* of gradually decreasing thickness, and the flaring conical portion 42 of uniform thickness.

The steps just referred to, therefore, comprise a drawing operation, severing of the drawn portion, and extrusion of the severed portion in one operation and by the use of the same tools.

As is well understood, when circular blanks are punched from sheet metal, a considerable loss is entailed on account of the large proportion of scrap resulting from the material remaining between the punched portions. If the blank is in the form of a hexagon or other polygon, the amount of scrap is considerably reduced or entirely done away with. For this reason my invention has been developed for extruding hexagonal and other polygonal blanks. This form of my invention is shown in Figs. 11 to 13 inclusive wherein the hexagonal blank 3ft, which may be flat or dished, as desired, is placed in an extruding die 22 and extruded by means of a punch 23. In order to provide for the same amount of metal while using blanks of the same thickness, the blank and consequently the punch and die are of somewhat larger diameter than in the forms previously shown and described. When the punch descends upon the blank, the various effects on the metal are substantially the same as shown in Figs. 1 to 4 inclusive, i, 'e., the blank is first bent to conform to the shape of the punch and die; upward extrusion then takes place to fill the blank space between the punch and the seat of the die; further movement results in downward extrusion into the form shown in Fig. 13. The product of these steps is a closed ended tube having a thick base 40", side walls 41 and the flaring portion 42". This tube, as in previous cases, may be made into the finished cartridge shell by usual and well-known operations.

It will be seen that in each of the forms of my invention described above the extrusion operation is effected by pressure on the substantially fiat edge portion of the blank, rather than on the top of an upturned edge portion of the blank as contemplated heretofore. The blank is therefore supported on all sides except at the extrusion orifice.

l/Vhile I have shown my, invention in several forms, it is to be understood that other embodiments thereof may be used without departing from the principle thereof. While the form which these modifications may assume cannot be readily foretold, certain modifications are obvious. For example, the punch and die need not be cylindrical, as in some cases it might be preferable to employ a prismatic punch provided with a pyramidal end for producing either cylindrical or pyramidal tubes. Or, the blank might be formed in the shape in which it appears in Fig 3 in any desired way and then placed 1n the die and extruded.

&

However, what I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. The method of making closed ended tubes, which consists in placing a substantially flat circular or polygonal blank in a die having a central aperture and extruding the metal thereof downwardly and inwardly into said aperture by means of a punch which bears only on the edge portions of the blank.

2. The method of making closed ended tubes, which consists in placing a substantially fiat circular or polygonal blank in a die and reshaping the same by means of a punch by first bending up the edge of the blank and then extruding the metal of said ed e.

The method of making closed ended tubes, which consists in placing a substantially fiat polygonal blank in a die and reshaping the same by means of a punch by first bending up the edge of the blank and then extruding the metal thereof by pressure on the bent-up portion only.

4:. The method of making closed ended tubes, which consists in bending up the edge of a substantially circular or polygonal blank into conical form and extruding the same into tubular form by pressure on the bent-u conical edge.

5. ll eans for making closed ended tubes comprising a die having a conical seat and a bottom opening concentric therewith and a punch formed with a flat end and a conical face adjacent said fiat end.

6. Means for making closed ended tubes comprising a substantially cylindrical punch formed with a frusto-conical end and a die conforming substantially to the shape of the punch.

7. Means for making closed ended tubes comprising a substantially cylindrical punch formed with a frusto-conical end and a die conforming substantially to the shape of the punch and provided with a central opening of substantially the same size as the end of the punch.

8. The method of making closed ended tubes, which consists in placing a sheet of metal over a die, severing a portion thereof and forcing it into the die by means of a punch.

9. The method of making closed ended tubes, which consists in placing a sheet of metal over a die, severing a portion thereof and forcing it into the die by means of a punch, and further shaping the metal thereof by compressing the same between the punch and the die.

10. The method of making closed ended tubes, which consists in placing a sheet of metal over a die having a substantially cylindrical portion and a. restricted portion forming a seat, severing a portion of the sheet and forcing it into the die and upon the seat b means of a punch.

11. he method of making closed ended tubes, which consists in placing a sheet of metal over a die having a substantially cylindrical portion and a restricted portion forming a seat, severing a portion of the sheet and forcing it into the die and upon the seat by means of a punch, and. extruding the metalhthereof by a further movement of the punc 12. The method of making closed ended tubes, which consists in placing a sheet of metal over a die having a cutting edge and a seat below the cutting edge, severing a portion of the sheet and forcing it upon the seat by means of a punch.

13. The method of making closed ended tubes, which consists in placing a sheet of metal over a die having a cutting edge and a seat below the cutting edge, severing a portion of the sheet and forcing it upon the seat by means of a punch and extruding the metal thereof by a further movement of the punch.

14. The method of making closed ended tubes, which consists in placing a sheet of metal over a die having a cutting edge and a seat below the cutting edge, severing a portion of the sheet and forcing it upon the seat by means of a punch and extruding the metal thereof by compressing it between the punch and the seat in the die.

15. The method of making closed ended tubes, which consists in placing a sheet of metal over a die having a cutting edge and an annular seat below said. cutting edge and formed with a central aperture extending below said seat, severing a portion of the sheet and forcing it upon the seat by means of a punch conforming substantially to the shape of the seat.

16. The method of making closed ended tubes, which consists in placing a sheet of metal over a die having a cutting edge and an annular seat below said cutting edge and formed with a central aperture extending below said seat, severing a portion of the sheet and forcing it upon the seat by means of a punch conforming substantially to the shape of the seat and extruding the metal thereof by a further movement of the punch.

17 The method of making closed ended tubes, which consists in placing a sheet of metal over a die having a cutting edge and an annular seat below said cutting edge and formed with a central aperture extending below said seat, severing a portion of the sheet and forcing it upon the seat by means of a punch conforming substantially to the shape of the seat and extruding the metal thereof into the aperture below the seat by a further movement of the punch.

18. The method of making closed ended tubes, which consists in placing a sheet of metal over a die having a cutting edge and an annular seat below said cutting edge and formed with a central aperture extending below said seat, severing a portion of the sheet and forcing it upon the seat by means of a punch conforming substantially to the shape of the seat and extruding the metal of the outer portion-of the blank by a further movement of the punch.

19. The method of making closed ended tubes, which consists in placing a sheet of metal over a die having a cutting edge and an annular seat below said cutting edge and formed with a central aperture extending below said seat, severing a portion of the sheet and forcing it upon the seat by means of a punch conformingsubstantially to the shape of the seat and extruding the metal of the outer portion of the blank into the central aperture by compressing it between the punch and the seat.

20. The method of making closed ended tubes which consists in placing a substantially flat circular or polygonal blank in a die and reshaping the same by means of a punch so formed as. to first bend up the edge of the blank and extrude the metal thereof by pressure on the bent-up portion only.

21. The method of making closed ended tubes which comprises placing a sheet of metal over a die, forcing a portion thereof into the die with a punch, severing it, and extruding the metal thereof by a furthen motion of the punch.

22. The method of making closed ended tubes which comprises placing .a sheet of metal over a die, drawing a portion thereof into the die and severing and extruding the drawn portion by means of a single punch.

23. The method of making closed ended tubes which comprises drawingsheet metal into dished shape, severing and extruding the drawn portion in the order named.

24. Means for forming closed ended tubes from a sheet of'metal comprising a die for supporting the sheet and a punch for severing a blank from the sheet and extruding the metal thereof in one movement of the punch.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name hereto this 14th day of January, 1919.

F. H. MALONEY.

Witnesses:

MAYNARD T. SMITH,- MARY S. Bmmouons. 

